Lost Memories
by the guttersnipe
Summary: She vanished on a special mission and he was sent to recover her.
1. Chapter 1

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Title: Lost memories

Pairing: Sasuke Uchiha / Ino Yamanaka

Summary: She vanished on a special undercover mission and he was sent to recover her.

Genre: Romance

Rated: M

Writer's Notes:

In this story, ANBU Root was the highest outfit in the Konoha militia. It preceded the normal ANBU and mobilized solely by the Hokage alone.

Sasuke Uchiha here do not follow the canon Sasuke Uchiha. He had living family members and no massacres of any kind.

Characters were written with the story line in mind. Some changes were needed and made.

Enjoy!

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Disclaimer: Characters and places were only borrowed from their respective proprietor. Plot and storyline were mine for my enjoyment. No monetary transaction involved. (I wish! I'd be rich if that was the case.)

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Chapter 1

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Sasuke Uchiha rarely went looking for trouble but somehow, someway it always manages to find him. Maybe it was that handsome face, the mouth-watering physique or his influential family name that depending on someone might be a blessing or a curse. Whatever it was, the youngest Uchiha was not known to back down from a challenge – personal or professional.

Never.

He was out on one of the training grounds looking at three wet-behind-the-ears chuunin who were glaring daggers at him.

Oh, well, Sasuke mused, their funeral. He knew that if either or both the Hokage caught wind of this and/or the ANBU Root commander they would surely tan his hide. A seasoned ANBU operative versus the still green chuunins fighting over a random woman? Oh yeah, definitely maximum salary deduction plus give or take a week or two of suspension, a lot of talking to by his superiors and maybe his father – the works.

On more than a dozen or two occasions he had been told that he was bad. So what? He was a former ANBU captain and now an ANBU Root captain.

Oh yeah. He was bad. And he had proudly earned that right to be fair and square. He worked his ass off to get that privilege. Sacrificed a lot, too. He had paid the price and he was just reaping the benefits.

ANBU Root was not in the slightest the same as the ANBU faction. Root was the best of the best; the cream of the crop; the ones sent whenever other factions fail; the last resort. You get it.

The recruitment was different from the norm because you do not apply to be Root you get assigned.

So, why was he, a member of the super elite force, in the middle of the regular training area getting ready for a brawl? Simple. On his very, very, very, rare days off he normally would just be recuperating and waiting for yet another mission but he has been free for about a month and a half and he was getting bored. Most of his very few friends were out on a mission or pulling shifts at the hospital. The need to do anything other than train sent him to this very situation.

He had been out to grab a drink but three chuunins decided to challenge him because the girl they had been ogling, for who knows how long, was gawking at him the moment he sat behind the bar counter and the trouble he had been unconsciously avoiding had eventually found him.

As if that was his fault!

The biggest and the beefiest of the three stepped forward. He seems to be the leader of the group. As if he cares!

"Okay old man. Let's do this mano y mano just to even out the odds," he said smugly. "You and I go first then the winner can take the next and so on."

Okay. So he had turned the big three five chapter in his life and that might be considered old for the shinobi world but that certainly did not make him old by any stretch of the imagination. He just merely matures not olden. He can still pull stunts that rookies cannot do.

He grunted his response and surveyed his opponents. He did not live to be at this age because he was negligent. No, sir. If anything, Sasuke Uchiha was a keen observer – a battle trained keen observer.

He raised one striking eyebrow to their appearances. They looked like a model for ninja garments he saw once on his former flame's many magazines. How they passed the Chuunin Regulatory Exam was beyond him. If he was that concerned, he would have words with the exam commissioner but he had none. He heard them brag to that pathetic girl about their exam and how they managed to stay alive. Scratch that. He has now half a mind to file a complaint to the examiners for letting them pass. They would surely not last a day in the real world if they do not change their pitiful ways.

"Hn. It makes no difference to me. BOYS," he said the last word mockingly.

Rage filled the threesome's faces. "We're not afraid to hit an old man and we're going to enjoy beating the shit out of you." The leader declared.

He grunted and sighed for the nth time. The fight hadn't even started yet and he was bored out of his mind. This was even boring than staring at his ceiling.

Before the chunky guy could make his first move an ANBU man arrived at the scene halting everyone. Sasuke noticed who it was immediately but decided to keep his mouth shut. After all, they weren't wearing those masks to be identified personally. They wore those masks because they do the questionable clandestine jobs normal shinobis do not even fathom. Besides, he was not known to be Mister Congeniality.

"Tower. Now." ANBU guy barked.

"We have an unfinished business with him," the leader of the group protested. "He's going nowhere until we're through with him."

"No. You're done here, GENIN," ANBU man spat elegantly.

"CHUUNIN." Third guy corrected.

"We passed the exams," the second guy insisted.

"No, you did not," the masked man said emotionlessly like what he was about to say was beyond his duties. "Seto, Akihiro and Oda, you three failed the Chuunin Selection Examinations. You are to report to the Hokage tower first thing tomorrow morning and you, Uchiha, you're needed at the tower yesterday. I'm not repeating it for the third time."

The three stooges' eyes went comically wide. First, they were found out and second, the man they challenged was an Uchiha – a member of one of the most powerful clans in Konoha. They bickered amongst themselves and Sasuke was willing to bet his entire inheritance that if Naruto were here, he would laugh his ass off.

He smirked then shunshined out of the training field. Whatever made the Hyuuga's panties twist must be urgent. He hoped this was a mission briefing. It had been a long while since he had one of those. About damn time, he was getting antsy and judging by the former event he was really, really, bored to even think about beating the snot out of those genins.

He raised his eyebrow for the second time when he saw the sober Tsunade. In this time of night? His blood was tingling with anticipation. Whatever this mission was, it was dangerous and deadly. A sober and calm Tsunade was never a good sign.

"Two minutes tops and you couldn't even give me that?" He said by way of greeting.

"I'd run a betting pool on that, Brat, but this is urgent. We've received reports that Ino Yamanaka codename Boar's mission was compromised."

Sasuke waited for the older blond's speech to end. His blood ran cold the moment that name was uttered. This mission does not feel right.

"She was undercover for the last three months. Her reports were consistently up to date until last month when it all completely went dead silent. It was a deep covert operation and radio silence was unavoidable but someone anonymously sent us a tip that Yamanaka was compromised. Unfortunately, the tipster did not elaborate. I have already sent several ANBU to confirm."

The pregnant pause made Sasuke's heart race. Tsunade's amber colored eyes were solely focused on him.

"She apparently lost her memories and she now thinks she is one of them," the older woman stated grimly.

"What?" Did he just hear that correctly? Ino turned? Impossible! She's the most loyal person he knows by far.

"Intelligence reported that she has completely lost her memories and that she firmly believes that she's part of a group of missing nins and that what they were doing were doing the world a great favor by eradicating all hidden villages. They had managed to cripple the Land of the Moon and eliminated the Bean Jam's military defenses. Her last official report was about the Land of the Keys but she had been spotted last night at the River Country."

"What had been done to help her?" he demanded.

"So far, we had steadily sent a stream of people she was close with, even the occasional acquaintances hoping to trigger something. Neither face nor catch phrase had helped. I even went but nothing happened." Tsunade's face bore her hurt for not being recognized by one of her students.

"What about her parents?" He honestly did not want to hear her answer. Her face already says it all.

"Inoichi was currently on another mission and pulling him out and sending him in might compromise them both more. Her mother, on the other hand, had tried but she went home in vain. What we concretely know is that Ino is safe, somewhat, but there are far too many people getting killed by this group. We must think of the bigger picture first. Worst case, Ino is just one life compared to the community of people we can save." The Hokage looked exhausted. He can see the toll this had done to her.

"Why me? How sure are you that she'll remember me when the closest persons to her failed including you, her esteemed leader?" He had a sinking feeling that this question will bite him in the ass big time.

Tsunade smiled for the first time that meeting. "Are you really asking me that, Sasuke?"

"That maybe true but that was ten years ago." He said defensively.

"You dumb boy, you were the only relationship she ever had. You two may have broken up but that does not erase the fact that you almost tied the knot. You even lived together at some point in your relationship. That must account for something and I am not going to bet on that." Tsunade was known as the world's worst better and a gambling addict. Her gambling debts had debts but that doesn't change the fact that she was a good leader, medic and tactician.

Sasuke smirked on the betting jab the Hokage made. Tsunade betting on someone was a bad omen. It makes her a great betting challenger but not a morale booster.

"So, I'm guessing this is not my usual mission then. Who and what am I?" He mentally readied himself. He may have wished for a mission but not like this one. This had compromise written all over it and Tsunade was backing him on the corner with this one. Flinging his past association to the subject was a low but effective blow. They may be a decade over but he still cares about her.

The light mood became tense again when she planted her elbows to her desk and placed her chin on her clasped hands. "You're gonna love this," she said mysteriously before continuing. "We staged chaos using your name the moment we knew everything's not triggering her. You are going to join their merry little group and worm your way into their plans and we will go on from there. They must be stopped all at cause or the world will be in danger."

One thing clicked on Sasuke's mind. "Is this the reason I was benched for a month?"

"It was a necessary move," the Hokage deflected and continued her briefing.

Sasuke's mind was reeling with all the information. First he had to confront a memory-deficient-mission-compromised former fiancée then he was turning rogue to save the said fiancée without knowing if this was foolproof and saving the world on the side. Great!

"It pains me to say this but if Ino is deemed unsalvageable you will have to end her. I'm sorry Sasuke."

The Hokage's last words were hunting him all throughout until his deployment. Konoha basically wanted him to show up in his former lover's life and literally put her life in his hands. The first time they will be in each others personal radius and he was going to be evaluating if she can live to see another day or not.

In the innermost depth of his cold dead heart he still feels something for her. What that something was, was not important right now. That was one can of worms he does not want opened unless he's ready which was never. He doesn't want to be the one to deliver the killing blow that would end his former lover's life. He was sure that would ruin him for eternity even if that was the greater good for all mankind.

For the second time in his life, he was torn between his sworn duties and his heart's desire.

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This is dedicated for my readers and reviewers! Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

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Ino's head hurts. She was having on and off pounding headaches since last month and her medical skills were doing nothing to alleviate the taxing ache. By far, this was the mother of all the headaches after the 'accident'.

She shut her eyes tightly, willing it to go away. She was not a pious woman but she had begged all the deity that she knew off to stop this ebbing pain. She would gladly take on the pain any day but now. She had a mission to do now. She cannot be compromised in the middle of it. The world was relying on them to do their job and make it a better place to live to civvies and shinobi alike.

She took a long drag of breath to compose herself and went out of the dingy restroom. She sashayed provocatively towards her target making sure she had all his attention. She was the only one in this shit hole who was beautiful enough to eat. The jounin was on his fifth bottle of sake and he was heady. Perfect! Less effort, the better.

"Pshh… Lightweight!" She muttered under her breath disgustedly. If it wasn't a mission she would gladly school this guy on how to drink anyone under the table.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a gleam of the Konoha badge. She wanted to investigate more but her head was pounding harder by the second. She stamped the need to investigate. She had a mission to see through before she collapses from the pain. She had no idea how long she can refuse to give in to it.

"Hey there handsome," she flashed her sensuous smile and as expected he fell to her trap. She held the man's attention to derail him from sensing her taking his mission scrolls. She flirted heavily for a while before excusing herself. Her head was really, really taking all her energy. "Hate to leave too handsome but I have to go before my husband gets home. He doesn't know I'm looking for a good time. Shh… Don't tell him."

She passed the scroll stealthily to the man at the end of the bar before going out the door. She gratefully took a huge gulp of fresh air. She suspected her migraines were just acting up because of the awful smell of smoke and booze. She suddenly found herself incased between the wall and a hard warm body in between inhaling and exhaling.

"'Never thought I'd be seeing you here, Ino."

Ino's cerulean eyes flew to the owner of the husky voice.

Sasuke was sure the moment she looked at him that she did not remember him. Her face sported that dazed look she had when confused. His concern for her was increasing ten folds by the minute this mission was not done. She looked tired and, if she still was the Ino that he knew, was running on pure will. Not good.

He was also worried that he failed his mission even before it started. He squashed that feeling and decided to jostle her memories more. His pride cannot accept that she forgot him. A decade of being in a relationship was not easy to erase.

"Do not tell me you forgot about me, Babe. That hurts."

"Whoever you are punk, you have 5 seconds to unhand me and get the hell away from me," she threatened and Sasuke was well aware that she makes good on all her threats. He had to unfortunately learn that the hard way when they were still an item.

"Princess—" he began but was immediately cut off.

Ino obviously would not hear it because she had started counting. He had a sudden burst of deeply buried emotions and his mouth developed a mind of its own and had run away from him. "I will but I can't. You're too important for me to let go, Ino."

He tensed for a full minute when she stiffened in his arms. She had stared at him for the longest nerve wracking minute he had ever experienced in his life. He can only breathe in relief when she mumbled his name softly.

It is official. This woman will be the death of him.

He wanted nothing more than to bundle her up, lock her at home and abandon the mission. He put a tighter lid to his rupturing emotions. He had a mission to do, a woman to save, an organization to destroy before he can submit to death's door. Before all that, he wanted to strangle the blond for making him worry before finally dying himself.

"You expecting someone, Doll?" He asked cockily. He wouldn't show the world how relieved he was that he got through to her.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Sasuke. If you are here to take me back to that hell hole then forget it. I am willing to fight you for it," Ino pushed him an arm away waiting for his deciding answer.

Sasuke wanted to simultaneously kill and kiss her right then. It was only her who could do that to him—the only woman who he'd willingly fall on his knees before her and beg. "If you hadn't heard yet I'm a missing nin now."

Before Ino could retort, someone had placed a cold razor-sharp blade on his jugular.

"Are you okay there, Good-looking? Is this guy bothering you?"

Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes in answer. "Nah! We're good here. Suigetsu, meet Sasuke Uchiha. We hail from the same pathetic place and I was just recently informed that he also turned. I can't wait to burn that place to the ground."

"Uchiha, eh? I heard about you." The man called Suigetsu deemed him not a threat and pocketed his weapon away from him. He also backed away to give them some breathing space.

Something about the way she had critiqued Konoha did not sit well with him. This was the same woman who passionately did everything for the sake of the village. He had never heard of her talking ill about the village before. Ever. He even had a mission with her a long time ago where she traded her life for a Leaf civilian.

He mentally noted to check how erased were her true memories on top of all the things he had to do.

He stared at the woman who conversed freely with this Suigetsu guy - the same guy who kept on calling her flimsy names. What's the deal with that? Only he was entitled to call her nicknames. Hold up! Was he jealous? Long buried emotions were resurfacing before he could even stop it. He had felt this before but not like this.

His train of thought was disturbed when he felt someone tapping his chest. He looked down at Ino who was still wrapped in his hold.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Suigetsu was asking if you wanted to come with us," she was looking at him earnestly hoping he'd say yes.

Damn this woman!

If she only knew that he would gladly die for her. If that would ensure her safety, he would gladly do it without remorse or thought. Scratch that! She knew he would trade his life for hers but this woman in his arms was not his.

There it is again. Ino was not his anymore. He mentally drilled that information in his mind.

He snagged the opportunity to infiltrate the group without evoking suspicion. He pretended to think about it before agreeing. He does not want to sound so eager beaver in joining them - even if he kind of was. Let them think he was an unaccompanied rogue wanting company. That might do wonders and expedite his mission.

"Good. Enough of this chitchat. I bet Bitchface was pissing her ass off from waiting," Suigetsu said as he led the way to the hideout.

Ino pecked him happily on the lips before skipping and dragging him away from the bar. He sincerely hoped this mission wouldn't break her because it would destroy him too. He really does not want to be the one to kill his former lover.


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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The hideout was nothing like Sasuke had expected. He thought they would be going to some dank dark cave in the outskirts of nowhere like all criminal tend to do. This was surprisingly different. It was a cozy flowering plant decorated little hut with four bedrooms, a kitchen cum dinning room, a small living room and a common toilet and bath room. No one would guess that the occupants of this charming house were against the law or in Ino's case a spy gone haywire.

The moment they arrived at the hideout, Suigetsu's predictions came true in the form of a weird hair styled crimson headed woman. She had spouted fire for them being late the moment they stepped inside the threshold. She did not even notice that there was someone tagging with the duo until their team leader, Kabuto, had slapped the woman's mouth shut. Thankfully!

"Could it be?" Kabuto's eyes widened in shock, amazement and glee the moment he recognized the newcomer. "Is it my birthday? What did you do? What did you two do?"

"Thank Gorgeous for that. She was feeling him up at the alley when I spotted them. They seem to be close," Suigetsu said as he carefully laid his sheathed sword beside him on the couch.

"Is that true, Slut?" Karin asked heatedly. She clearly was annoyed for getting all the guys' good graces and attention especially this gorgeous man-meat. She wanted him for herself.

"I'm confused. Why are you asking yourself, Karin?" Ino returned smugly as she sat on the armrest near Suigetsu.

Suigetsu howled in laughter and tapped the blond woman's thigh. "Good one, Sexy."

Sasuke was casually observing in the sidelines. He can clearly see there was bad blood between these two women. He smirked internally. Knowing Ino, it won't be a happy day if she did not rile this one up. She breathes to terrorize those who misjudge her.

"Stay away from this, Water Boy!" Karin sniped at Suigetsu.

"Make me, Bitch!"

"ENOUGH!" Kabuto shouted. "Whether or not Ino is close with him or not is not our concern. They both were from the same village clearly they have history other than being village mates. Now, I assume you want to join us, that's why you're here for, right?"

Sasuke did not like this Kabuto guy. Not one bit. He grunted his answer. He disgusts him.

"Well, this is a nice welcome and all but I'm bushed. That guy kept on pouring drinks hoping to get me drunk and get into my tight little skirt. One thing I can say about him is that he's a terrible light weight. I wasn't even in my best moment and he's already sleeping under the table," Ino said as she walked towards her room. It was a common knowledge in the village that Ino drank as much as the fifth Hokage. She was her former student therefore she had to learn her drinking ways as well. Add in her father's infamous sake cellar and she's someone not to challenge in a drinking match.

"Where will Sasuke stay?" Suigetsu asked no one. He doesn't care where he bunks as long as he's aware. He doesn't want to wake up seeing him bunked in his bed. Or beside him. Whatever.

Karin instantly perked up and declared to be the new guy's room mate but Kabuto thankfully put a stop to that before it got ugly. "Karin, I fear you'll only get yourself killed when you decide to rape him. You," he pointed at Sasuke, "sleep with Ino that way you'll have the chance of waking up to see another day."

"That is so wrong in so many different levels, Kabuto," Suigetsu said as he went to his room, his sword on his back.

"Stop raining on my parade, Sui." Ino shouted from wherever she was. "Sasuke, get your ass in here. The bed's getting cold."

"Stop putting images in my head, Flirt."

"Bite me."

"Oh, I'll do more than bite. Just point and I'm there slobbering all over it."

Ino smirked as she was getting ready for bed. She left the door ajar so that Sasuke will know which room to enter. She and Suigetsu had a pretty blasé relationship. They had a lot in common. Anyone else who read into it will only acquire a headache. They flirt heavily without following through.

"Get a room!" Karin yelled. She sounded like she was ready to pop a blood vessel.

"With you? No thanks. I'd rather do Suigetsu in your face beside I have a hot man meat with my name on it," Sasuke had entered the room just as she was saying that. She smirked at him and went to the close the door. "'Night guys. I'll be sure to let you know how great Sasuke is come morning, Karin."

Ino slammed the door shut and turned to him. All playfulness was gone and was replaced by seriousness. "What are you really doing here, Sasuke? You be truthful or you'll be kissing your baby making kit goodbye." She hissed.

He felt the sharp tip of the kunai pressed to his groin. "Kinky. We haven't done this in a long time. Aren't you supposed to wine and dine me first?" he ruffled the blond's feathers a bit and got the satisfactory annoyed look from her. She looked just this side of sinful when annoyed. "I got tired of doing things for them so I rebelled. You know what that's like, right?"

"Bullshit." The kunai was still on his groin but the pressure had eased. Good. No need to worry about his baby making equipment now. He'll be needing it after this damned fiasco was over with her tied to his bed so she won't be in some mess again.

"Think what you will, Doll. They were only using me as their lap dog. I haven't had a decent vacation since I passed the Chuunin Selection Test. I eventually got tired of following their every whim, like you," Sasuke prayed she believed his lies. She was a mind control specialist and interrogation was her specialty. She even taught the fucking course to recruits, for crying out loud! She also had the advantage of knowing him well. He had to mentally brace himself. This could be ugly any minute.

Ino released the Uchiha and headed straight for the small dresser. Her kunai was flung to wherever it landed in the room. She took a couple of painkillers and a couple of soldier pills dry. Her head was pounding just by analyzing Sasuke's answer. She was not lying to the team when she said she was bushed. She took a drink from the bottled water on her nightstand. She doesn't want to show weakness especially in front of the Uchiha but she was already pushing past her limits.

"Sleep wherever you like. We have an early day ahead of us," Ino said as she slid to the bed.

Sasuke stared at the woman the moment he stepped to her room. She really looked exhausted and out of her game. The normal Ino he knew was feisty, tenacious and a chatterbox this one however was the complete opposite. She even took pills dry which she detests so much. That gave him some clue to what she was feeling right about now.

He cannot even detect her true self. His sharingan was telling him that this was the genuine Ino. No genjustu whatsoever. His heart was telling him otherwise - that there was something seriously going on within her.

Early the next day, Ino had woken him up at the butt crack of dawn, ordered him to change and get ready for a mission. She threw him a black cloak and left the room telling him to hurry up and to not forget to wear it.

He wasn't told what to look ahead to for that day but he found himself shaking inside at the carnage he had just witnessed in the unwanted front row seat. He might have a lucky strike alerting the Daimyo of an attack from the snippets he heard before they attacked but still there were a lot of casualties.

What he can't believe the most was how the blond used to be lover of his can kill without so much as a blink of an eye and remorse. She even smiled when a spray of blood was running down her face. She was ruthless and coldhearted. He can still remember every shinobi she killed were stroked twice in the heart to really make sure they were going to die. The others were even gutted savagely.

"What's wrong?" Ino asked him sweetly blood still dripped on her person. She had changed from the cold hearted killing machine to the charming girl she once was.

He grunted. He didn't know what to say. He might be arrogant but he wasn't a hypocrite. He killed people for a living but not like this. Not without extensive surveillance and deliberation. Not without an order from the Hokage. This was a different ballgame and he wanted nothing but get her out of it – FAST.

They were sitting under the foliage sharing a meal like nothing gruesome happened earlier. Suigetsu and Karin were off to the other side bickering. Ino was subtly massaging her head beside him. He noticed that she was doing it a lot. Kabuto was talking to the newly arrived pale long-haired man and his cohorts.

"So, you're the new recruit, yes?" a cold sinister voice asked him.

"That's Sasuke Uchiha. My future husband," Karin excitedly said to the newcomer. She was brimming with joy when she announced that.

Yellow eyes gleamed and a smirk appeared on his paler than pale face. "Uchiha, eh? We'll where are my manners? My name is Orochimaru, the honorable leader of this organization."

Like he gave a flying fuck what they call themselves. He swallowed a grunt and remembered why he was here. He stayed seated and struggled to look obedient while he discussed their next move. Ino graced him a small smile and they all headed to another hide out.

They arrived at the dug out tunnel on the north east of Konoha near the Fire Country border. Great! The Hokage could send the damn cavalry to stop this man. He was getting very uncomfortable with this man's sudden appearance. He can feel dark massive chakra inhabiting in him.

They ate like kings celebrating their victory. He wanted to hurl at how foolish this was. In Konoha, every kill was treated with express grief for different reasons. They do not celebrate after killing especially those who were just innocent bystanders.

"Since we are near Konoha it will be our next target," the Oto leader announced after the meal. "Be ready in a week. Konoha is a big powerful village full of talented maggots. We have to plan our attack carefully."

This was bigger than the last hide out. They were able to have their own personal rooms. He was preparing to send his report when the door burst open to reveal a tired, pony-tail free, scantily clad Ino. He absently let go of the breath he was holding. He thought for a second that he was made.

"Can I sleep here?" The blond tentatively asked.

He raised his eyebrow and decided to swim with the current. He shrugged and told her to help herself. The bed was big enough for them anyways.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

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Ino smiled and climbed on the bed. "Thanks. I don't like to sleep alone. Suigetsu's out and he might bring a lady friend back and one thing I am not is a cockblock. We'll have our time eventually."

Did she just imply that she and that water freak have something going on? What the fuck had she been doing all this time?

Ino saw the raw emotion passing through his handsome face albeit briefly. He rarely shows emotion – that she can think of without hurting her head more anyway. "It was a no brainer between him and Kabuto. Karin pisses me off so she's out. The others looked disgusting and the boss man was just ew."

He grunted and got ready for bed ignoring the jab at sleeping with another woman. Ino was a very sexual woman but she never did stray from him unless directly under orders and even then she always finds a way to finish her mission before anything remotely penetrating happens. Her passion was so intense he sometimes had to keep up to sate her. He will never admit that one. They were each others first and he sometimes wondered if she took someone to her bed after they were over. He did dabble on a couple of flings but that's about it. He took no one to his bed. He honestly couldn't do it. He was surprised that jealousy reared its ugly head and made him very possessive of the woman beside her. He suddenly wanted to kill any man who touched her the way he did.

Shaking himself from some evil thoughts, he was glad that he had half a mind to hide his mission reports. There's no use doing that report with her here. He slid right next to her and waited for sleep to take him. What a rip off! A cold decade without her was better that the cut throat bitch beside him. Or was it?

He woke up with her tossing and turning on his side. He kept still and waited for it to cease but it was getting worse followed by a whimper of pure hurt and… why is his chest wet?

He looked down and saw the blond curled and seeking comfort from him. He threw caution to the wind and hugged her. Ino was a strong woman and rarely cries. He only saw her shed a tear sans mission once when her mentor died on a mission with her then chuunin team. He concluded that the headaches must be unbearable for her. She was pulling her hair so hard that he had to intervene unless he wanted a scalped woman beside him. He massaged her scalp instead to help her ease the pain.

"Sui, it still hurts. Dig deeper. Please. It hurts." She cries over and over. More tears were gushing from her eyes. She was alternating between sobbing and pleading.

Sasuke was attacked by jealousy. He has half a mind to kill the water user. He heaved a deep breath and continued to help ease the pain. He felt something off and a strange chakra was surrounding her. There were strange glowing markings covering her skin.

He activated his sharingan and saw that the markings were coming from a specific spot on her neck.

"Suigetsu, it hurts! It really, really hurts," Ino was now wailing helplessly. "Please stop it. Please."

Sasuke, for all the missions he'd been in, does not know how to help her. "How?" He let it go that it wasn't his name she was calling. It wasn't the time and place.

"C-close the seal with chakra. You should already know that!" Ino angrily wailed. "Make it quick it burns."

Sasuke blindly did as he was told. He pushed a steady amount of chakra and the weird cold chakra from her neck was backing off. He continued to steadily pour his chakra until the markings and the cold chakra were gone.

"Do me one better and kill me, Sui," Sasuke had to strain his ears to hear her tired anguished voice. "I'm tired. I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to keep on killing like this. I don't even have myself and the only time I'm me was if something like this happens. I feel so tired and disgusting. When are we going to escape? I miss my Sasuke but he's not mine anymore. It hurts that he's not mine to keep but it was the lesser evil than this."

It tore his heart to pieces. The blond was exhausted and was sprouting things without thought. Tears kept on pouring from her eyes and she was clinging to him like a lifeline. He was soaked in her tears but he held in tight. The storm wasn't over.

"He's so near yet so far, Sui. I saw the revulsion in his eyes when I killed those men. I wanted to physically stop but I can't. My body is no longer mine. I just hope the hidden village in the Mist would accept me after this is all over. Never mind if I'm never going to be a ninja again. Ino Yamanaka was dead the moment this fucking curse seal was placed on me.

When are you going to stop playing the chivalrous bastard and end me? I can't continue this shit. The Mist Village better act fast. We are staying here for a week. That's the longest that we stayed in one place. With U-uchiha here Leaf will also move. They should join forces and act fast to stop that snake and when it's all over tell Sasuke that I still love him and that I am sorry for everything. Tell my father that I tried to be a good kunoichi and a better daughter," Ino stopped rambling and fell asleep still clutching on to him.

"Makes your heart bleed, ain't it?" Suigetsu materialized on the end of the bed on the other side of the blond's leg. "I have half a mind to end her suffering and a full intent on blowing our cover and kill that bastard every time this happens."

Sasuke cleared his aching throat. He had so many questions but did not know which ones to ask first. Suigetsu caught his inner struggle and saved him from talking.

"The cursed seal was supposedly for the small girl from one of the powerful clans in Rock. Ino intercepted and…" he stopped talking and patted the sleeping woman's legs fondly. He explained everything to the silently fuming Uchiha.

Amidst all his fury something clicked. "You were the one who sends us information?"

"It was a bitch to do but yes. We have the same goal even if we aren't on the same team," Suigetsu stood up from his perch. "The Mizukage had already coordinated with your Hokage. We attack Konoha by the end of the week till then keep Orochimaru happy and hope they end this soon."

"Thank you," Sasuke did not elaborate what he was thanking for but the other man got it.

"It's no secret that I'm fond of Sexy. I'm gonna be missing sleeping with her, that's for sure. She's so snuggly and soft. Plus, she smells nice. Just so you know, it took her two and a half months before she stopped calling your name," Suigetsu walked towards the door and threw a wink at the man on the bed.

Two and a half months? That meant she had only stopped calling his name a more or less a week before he arrived. His jealousy dissipated in an instant and felt ashamed for feeling so. He held the blond tightly around him. He swore to shelter her, remove that wretched curse and make him his for real this time. He would not let her go this time around. His mind was planning when he fell asleep.

Ino woke up in Sasuke's arms early the next morning. She smiled and relived the moments when she used to wake up with his arms wrapped around her. She smiled sadly and moved to kiss him like she always does a long time ago.

"I love you, Sasuke. Always do, always will," she intensely whispered on his lips and moved cautiously putting a pillow around him as her substitute before swiftly leaving his room. It had been a terrible night and she had done so much. She did not know what she did and she did not want to stick around to find out.

What she did not know was that he was already awake when she stirred and struggled not to kiss her back lest he startle her away. He looked at the departing blond's back longingly. "I love you too."


	5. Chapter 5

…

Chapter 5

…

Orochimaru declared they make a move one day before the arranged date. Too many of the previous plans were scrapped and changed. He and Kabuto were sharing cryptic glances and his hackles were rising. This was not looking so good. Sasuke made sure his expressions did not betray his feelings. Outside he was calm but on the inside he was enraged.

Nothing was going to plan. He had no time to warn the village or anyone.

They were on the move to who-knows-where when he caught sight of something in the corner of his eye. It was following them for quite sometime now. He would not notice it but it wanted to be found obviously by him - alone.

He hoped that was the signal they were waiting for. Too many things had been changed that morning and there was no time to alert the proper channels. He was screwed.

He caught Suigetsu's eye and with an invisible agreement both of them got ready for the unexpected. Kunais and shurikens rained in Orochimaru's direction which the bastard deflected effortlessly. Sasuke and the others were tensed for the oncoming ambush.

Mist and Leaf uniformed men and women sprung out of the bush and the battle began.

Ino was fending of the attackers but Sasuke was quick to stop her. She was fighting the enemy which in truth was her ally. He did not want to hurt her or put her in any danger but this was a necessary evil. He used his mangekyou sharingan on her and suspended her in his red shaded world.

He picked her out cold form gingerly and looked around for a familiar face and saw pink. Oh thank goodness. "Sakura, take her to Tsunade," he commanded the woman and gently placed the unconscious blond in her arms trusting her to do what he ordered.

With Ino out of the way and towards safety, he can now concentrate fully on the battle ahead. He searched for the perpetrator and saw him summon a giant snake.

It was a long and hard battle for both sides. He went straight for Orochimaru. He had a bone to pick with him. This was supposed to be standard mission but it got personal the moment Ino got involved in his foolish schemes. He had been planning his demise after the first night he was privy to Ino's nightly terror.

Suigetsu, surprisingly, had been a tremendous help to him. He and the Mist operative had teamed up to bring down Sound. They had been running loose long enough. The Five Great Ninja Nations had allied against them the moment they started infiltrating the smaller country.

They had painstakingly sent hidden water based messages to both Leaf and Mist. Planned every move the enemy might make and did counter plans to negate their current plan. They had sent information to their respective villages but they did not expect a reply for fear that they would be made. They just hoped that whatever the plan was they were ready. This was running long enough. It needs to be stopped with extreme prejudice.

Ino's curse seal was getting harder and harder to suppress the longer she was in Orochimaru's side. It was getting stronger. She was looking more and more fatigued each day fighting it off on her own. Every night, Sasuke had to increase the chakra dosage. She collapses after each bout and woke up the next morning more tired than she did the day before.

The chakra pills were not helping her anymore and Karin who was a competent med nin had to allow Ino to bite her skin to give comfort. He had to beg her to help the blond for her to agree. He even used his considerable charms.

It pains him to see her hurt. When they were still an item, he never let her do anything not mission related. He treated her with outmost care and reverence never minding if the blond was annoyed because of his, according to her misplaced, chivalry.

In reality, it had only been four days but he felt it was longer that than. Each episode was shaving of years of his already diminutive lifespan.

Putting her in suspended animation was the last resort he could think of. The only safe thing he can do for her now. Only the Uchiha clan can remove the effects of the sharingan effectively and safely. If it meant she would not be hurt then he would do it over and over again.

Tsunade had dabbled in the curse seal when she was younger and was hell bent on removing it from her former student. She admitted to not seeing this kind of seal before but that would not stop the greatest medical ninja from saving her former student.

Sasuke managed to one up Orochimaru and killed him. He had made sure that he was really dead before he scanned the rest of the battle field. The portion of the forest was leveled by the weapons and the jutsus. There were fallen trees, singed spots and puddles of water everywhere. Metallic weapons were buried in the wreckage. Some, lying broken somewhere.

He looked to the far corner to see Suigetsu finishing Kabuto off. It looked to be an intense battle between them judging from the look on their persons.

Suigetsu limped over to him after everything calmed down. He put an arm out and shakes his. "Thanks for your help, Uchiha. We couldn't pull this off if you did not show up. We had been pinning them for months now."

He saw the pesky red headed woman jumping Suigetsu from behind and was puzzled when the fair haired man turned her into his arms and kissed her passionately. The couple laughed at his bewilderment.

"Pretty good cover, right? You did not even see that one coming," Karin exclaimed smugly. "Pass a message for me to Bitchface willya? Tell her to come visit Mist."

"Come along with her after you manage to make her yours again or not," Suigetsu piped up. "And if you do, don't you let her go this time. You don't even know half the pain she's been through."

He briefly wondered what Suigetsu knew.

The Leaf and Mist had gone on their separate ways for home. It had been a roller coaster hell of a month for him and a very long time for the others. He was gunning for home wanting to see the blond. He hoped they found a cure for her. He does not want repeat performances of her anguishes anymore.

He was planning on being on her good graces as he was heading for the village.

He had a pig to catch.


	6. Chapter 6

…

Chapter 6

…

One month later…

Ino recovered from the effects of the sharingan. The cursed seal was successfully lifted and thankfully there were no lasting side effects from both. The best of the medical nins had collaborated and risked everything to get her to the road to recovery.

Ino was murderous when she got her wits about. The Uchiha's mangekyou sharingan was a great weapon but was a bitch for its victim. It was like watching a live movie on the loop in a negative effect. It got interesting and then tiring after the third replay.

She ranted on the first Uchiha that she laid her eyes upon.

Mikoto Uchiha, the clan's matriarch and the perp's mother, was amused by her outbursts. She had let her ran some steam about how she hated the Uchiha's and then ended with a 'be thankful I love your stupid son so much or else.'

Ino was huffing and puffing righteous tirade atop her hospital bed until she realized that she had just declared her long suppressed feelings to the subject's mother. She looked at the room and saw a roomful of Uchiha's, her beloved father, the laid back Nara's, the munching Akimichi's, the smirking Hokage and the rest of her friends. She basically broadcasted stuff to the whole of Konoha in her private ward.

She was later told that the moment she started ranting, people got attracted to hear what she was saying like a swarm of bees to a sweet smelling flower. She desperately tried to right the suddenly fucked up situation but she got congratulatory remarks and squeals from the single women instead.

One by one the crowd diminished and she was left ten times more exhausted than what she had felt on the recent mission combined. She burst her bubble and humiliated herself in the process.

She was released early the next morning and spent the rest of the morning telling her father that she was fine. Her mother was beside herself with worry and delight that she came from that mission alive. She was only saved from more threats of coddling when he was called to the Hokage's office.

The moment she got to be alone with her thoughts, she began to seriously mull over her love life and reflect on what went wrong with it. She had looked at it at different angles but the result was all the same – their induction to ANBU. Not Root yet but regular ANBU.

They were newly inducted jounin when they started living together. They even plan out the rest of their lives.

They were both infamously ambitious individuals who wanted to climb high up on the ranks. ANBU was the highest beside the Hokage to be attained by all the aspiring shinobi. It was fulfilling at first especially after a successful high class black operations mission. It got downhill from there when they got assigned missions after missions – with a team, solo op, long term, short term. Things got hectic for them and they slowly drifted apart.

At first they wrote down their mission schedules on the fridge board but emergencies threw that up. Ino was required to a hundred hours of hospital duty with her being a medic, occasional interrogation stint, flower shop visitation, clan obligations and recruit coaching. Sasuke was also juggling clan duties, recruit coaching and other errands from the Hokage. All that stuff on top of their missions and just twenty four hours to accomplish was something.

They began to actively plan when they would hang out but it got postponed more often that not. They pushed themselves to be better until they got to be in demand. It came down to a point where they only got to see each other during an official meeting.

To a civilian's eye, they were perfect for each other. High ranks, neat shinobi statistical record, impressive lineage, good looks, monetary stability, the list goes on, however, all of that had a very high price tag. Their personal time was eaten by their high profile jobs. They haven't had a vacation time together in a very long time their schedules wouldn't permit them to take it together. They were practically practicing celibacy for crying out loud! It went against how they handle their relationship.

The most ironic of all was that they live together. They go to the same home; slept on the same bed; paid maintaining bills for the same place.

She was already his fiancée when they got in to ANBU. They were supposed to be wed formally and officially after they got settled in the ANBU outfit.

They were struggling to keep their almost non existent relationship afloat by the time they realized it. They did not even have their normal petty fights in a long time. There was even a time when she only talked to him asking about her lack of pudding in the fridge but that was it or if she took his katana or if she mistakenly used his holster. They became mechanical. Like two bed spacers instead of a couple sharing a home.

She sat him down one rare day they saw each other – right after he got home from a mission and before hers starts. They decided to mutually separate before they truly hurt each other. Both of them were too prideful to give up their careers. Choosing between duty and heart was a no brainer for them. Duty always comes first and the rest last.

Ino slept with tears caking on her face after everything came rushing down on her; an honest reaction to a sad ending.

…

Sasuke only dared to visit Ino when she was fast asleep. He cannot bear to see her for fear that he won't let her go. His mother bugged him to get back with her, his father smirked at him whenever he saw him and his elder brother and his wife had that weird we-know-something-you-don't look.

He got fuming mad when he caught sight of her at the village gates most probably leaving for yet another mission. The dumb girl just got back from a fucked up op and she was now going to another! He wasn't stalking her or anything. It was just a coincidence that he was there to give a message to an Uchiha cousin stationed there from the clan head.

"Where do you think you're going?" He cannot stop himself from yanking her arm before she even got to register her name on the log books. Ino was about to answer him but he was on a roll. He forgot where he was and the horde of people unabashedly watching them. "You just came from a botched mission and now you're heading to one? Are you that eager to die, woman?"

"But-" Sasuke glared at her hard and continued ranting.

"But nothing! I did not save you to bury you, you ungrateful woman. Do you have any idea how terrified I was to loose you? How I agonized for you when I learned about your latest fuck up? Are you really going to kill me with worry? Do you know that every time you went on missions especially the solo ones you're shaving years of my mortality? Questions plague my mind about you. Damn you, Ino."

"But-" he pinched her lips to stop her from talking back.

"Shut up," his sharingan activated involuntarily. He turned his ire to the gate guard on duty. "Remove her name on that list or you'll answer to me. She's not going anywhere even if the damned Hokage said so."

"Sas-" Ino struggled to mumble from his fingers.

"I. Said. Shut. Up. Get your gear and march that tight ass back home," he was about to say more but he was abruptly stopped when the subject of his rage jumped him. His body was doused with a different kind of warmth and answered her with a heated kiss of his own. He wasn't happy when she ended their liplock. Ten years and that's all the kiss he got? Nuh-uh. I don't think so.

He grabbed the back of her head and kissed her hard. This was what he was afraid of – not letting her go. Literally.

"Silly Sasuke," she said softly after he let her go to breathe precious air back in his system. "I was just picking up Karin and Suigetsu."

She turned his face to the Mist couple who wore the biggest shit eating grin he had ever seen. Suigetsu was whistling and cat calling from afar and Karin was trying to be a bigger man or woman than her man and looked the other way giving them their non existent privacy.

"Marry her and get a room!"

He almost broke his neck from twisting to the owner of the voice and saw his father patting his back.

"What are you doing here, Father?" Great! His stickler-for-rules father was here. What next?

"I sent a wrong message to a wrong cousin. I came to rectify it," his authoritarian father said in uncharacteristic smugness. "And I'm glad I did. You make me proud, son. You're on your own when your mother hears of this. I'll give you until dinner as headstart."

Fugaku Uchiha turned to the visitors and extended an invitation to stay at the Uchiha Manor for the duration of their stay in Leaf Village because my son and daughter-in-law would be busy making me a much awaited grandchild to accommodate you.

Sasuke stood mortified with a hot blond hanging on his front. He saw the two gate guards on duty, his father, the Mist couple, some leaf nins departing and arriving which included his nosy cousin, Shisui. Great!

"What a nice welcome back for me, Little Sasuke!" Shisui patted his back and pecked his woman on the cheek as a greeting. He whispered conspiratorially in her ear. "He was mopey without you."


	7. Epilogue

…

Epilogue

…

Two shadows ran swiftly across the thick forest without actually disturbing a single leaf. One signaled to go to the left and the other ran to the opposite direction. A nod of understanding and they launched a synchronized surprise attack followed by a loud squeal that disturbed the peaceful foliage. A flock of avian raced out of the immediate threat.

"It's not fair, Chichi!" A blond onyx eyed pudgy four-year old scowled. "Haha, stop kissing me. I'm a big boy now."

"It's so fair. You hid, we sought," Ino Yamanaka-Uchiha said as she smothered her son with kisses much to the annoyance of Akio Uchiha. "Enough play. Your Karin-obaachan and Suigetsu-ojiichan are probably waiting for us back home."

Sasuke laughed heartily and carried his son home tempting him with Mist stuff from the visiting couple. Ino traipsed after the father and son. She couldn't ask for more. She had a cute son, a loving husband and a prospering career. She did not think that her life would end up this way after everything that has happened.

Their families quickly arranged their union after Sasuke's legendary outburst at the main village gates. Both parties were whisked away by the swiftness of the events. The Hokage demanded their signatures on the scroll and ignored their stunned faces. She declared them married and kicked them from her office to start making babies because they had been putting that off long enough.

Suigetsu and Karin had to extend their stay because the Leaf community was dangling invitations left and right. They were warmly embraced by the villagers after learning their role on the Ino botched mission as it was lovingly called.

Following their long overdue honeymoon, Ino was appointed head of the Intelligence Department after her father retired and Sasuke was given the Jounin Commander position. They still maintained their ANBU status but were now seldom dispatched.

Even after five years of the infamous outburst, Shisui Uchiha still relives the day like it was yesterday and everyone who asked about it was rewarded with a much exaggerated and over dramatized enlightenment.

"Damn you, Shisui." Sasuke said resignedly after walking in the training field with his cousin's outlandish storytelling.

"You got to say Little Cousin, it was all worth it." Shisui said sagely before vanishing on thin air leaving him and the genins.

…

Thanks for reading!

I've recently opened my old laptop and found this story. I can not even remember when I made this, so…


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